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Friday, February 29, 2008

You are a natural performer and can easily bring laughter and merriment to even the most serious moment. You are happiest when your home is filled with people who are all having a good time, particularly when you are the direct source of the merriment.

Monday, February 25, 2008

I am writing in behalf of my 24-year old daughter Maria Kathrina Yarza (Kcat).Almost four years have past after Kcat was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2)a very rare genetic disease.Neurofibromatosis Type II) is an inherited disease. The main manifestation of the disease is the development of symmetric, non-malignantbrain tumours in the region of the cranial nerve VIII, which is the auditory-vestibular nerve that transmits sensory information from the inner ear to the brain. Most people with this condition also experience problems in their eyes. NF II is caused by mutations of the "Merlin"gene which probably influences the form and movement of cells. The principal treatments consist of neurosurgical removal of the tumors and surgical treatment of the eye lesions. There is no therapy for the underlying disorder of cell function caused by the genetic mutation.

mark your calendars.. my tentative schedule for surgery given by my dr. is march 10.. grabe! it's so near na.. it's still tentative though.. we'll still finalize everything on the coming days.. i'm just so happy that my surgery has a scheduled (tentative nga!) date already.. dun na rin punta non.. :P dra. chiong even ordered her secretary to book the operating room on march 10.. ang saya diba? and yes! i'll be having cochlear implant! woohoo! my hearing tests are all positive.. i would benefit from CI! i was really rooting for ABI since CI won't work on deaf NF2 patients like me, that's why ABI was born.. basta just google it nalang to understand it clearly.. :P basta it means, i won't be having another open brain surgery.. galing diba?

Sunday, February 17, 2008

My family and I are appealing to your good heart to help us in our time of dire need. I, my two brothers and sister, for reasons that defy medical explanation have all been diagnosed with a very rare genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). NF2 is characterized by the development of non-cancerous tumors in the region of the cranial nerve VIII, which is the auditory-vestibular nerve that transmits sensory information from the inner ear to the brain. Depending on the location, the tumors can affect control, balance, speech, eye movements, facial sensations and most importantly, hearing. Although there is no cure for NF2, the tumors can be surgically removed to stop them from further affecting our health.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

i'll be appearing in gma7 this time.. i was interviewed this morning by dra. beltran of kapwa ko mahal ko.. it will air on saturday morning, 6am at gma7.. so early noh? good thing we really need to be awake by that time on saturday coz we'll be selling hEAR shirts at the salesian past pupils' homecoming at dbti on saturday.. then i'll wake up ysiad coz she'll be recording it.. hehe. special mention! :P

anyway, before the camera started rolling, i asked my mom what will i say? she said: "of course about your sickness" then i asked her: "what am i sick of?" adik! then i remembered yeah i'm sick pala! :P seriously, i really forgot that i am SICK.. it's super funny.. hehe. i'm aware that i got nf2.. but i see it as a part of me lang.. parang wala lang.. eh it affected me big time pala.. hehe. ay basta i'm so praning! :P

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Friday, February 1, 2008

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) causes bilateral hearing loss due to tumour growth in the cerebellopontine angle. We report the results of promontory testing and transtympanic electrocochleography on subjects with deafness due to NF2 referred for an auditory brainstem implant. All 19 ears tested revealed loss of cochlear microphonics. Nine ears (mainly without previous treatment) revealed auditory perception during promontory stimulation, indicating cochlear deafness. One of these subjects has been successfully provided with a cochlear implant. The other 10 ears (mainly after previous surgery) revealed negative promontory stimulation, indicating additional retrocochlear deafness. These findings indicate that neurofibromas initially cause a cochlear deafness, so that a cochlear implant can be used if the auditory nerve can be preserved. This option has to be considered in rehabilitating patients with bilateral tumours due to NF2.

i love checking my statcounter ever since.. i normally get 5 - 10 visitors a day though.. i enjoy the keywoard analysis alot coz a lot of weird keywords are being searched.. haha! i wonder sometimes why those search engines directs them to me..

when i startedthe hEAR campaign my visitors increase from 10 to20 a day.. even 30..

and then came News Central, Probe, & Y-Speak.. aba! aba! ang dami..

my keyword analysis are mostly: kcat, hear, t-shirt, kathrina yarza, kcat probe, kcat y-speak, kcat news central, kcat nf2 blog, and so on.. though just recently a lot of people are searching for fr. suarez and google directs them to my blog.. hehe.

a lot of people are searching for me.. nice huh? ang galing!

but the best part is the 'Came From' tab.. grabeh! i was super duper touched.. wow a lot of people are spreading the word and helping me.. it's so amazing!

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Who me?

I am Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza. I am Kcat. I am Tack. I am Sick. But in spite and despite of everything, life must go on! I can't do a lot of things but that doesn't stop me from doing the things that I CAN! I blog, I raise funds, write, share my story, care for others & continue living because I am KCAT no matter what!

My New Old Stories..

This was actually my duplicate blog. I almost lost my original blog in 2007. Sad. But instead letting myself be negatively affected by it, I decided to make a new blog to move on with. But, false alarm! That blog suddenly came back but I decided to keep both and continue my sharing my story...

I was a contributing writer at the youth section (Students and Campuses) of Manila Bulletin from July 2010 - June 2014 where I have a column bi-weekly column. I wrote about my experiences and endeavors and share my blessings, advocacy and outlook in life. Read my articles here.

K C A T Y A R Z A . C O M
This is where I manage all of my other sites, blogs, articles, interviews, products and everything about me!

O N L I N E S T O R E
Neurofibromatosis is a continuing battle, not knowing when symptoms or an aggressive tumor or will strike. I can't solicit and ask for someone's hard-earned money forever. So I decided to share what God has blessed me with - creativity & Faith.

Every cent counts...

I'm not really asking for money, it' would be better if you'll check out my products and buy from me. That's way better. It's fine though if you insist on donating. Haha. No, really, I'd really really be grateful. There's no big or small in helping, it's the intention that matters.